A youngster smiles as she gets a high five from a Lansing Police officer near the end of Lansing Marathon Kid's 1.5K Race Saturday. / Robert Killips/Lansing State Journal

Written by

Ann Zaniewski and Kathleen Gray

Detroit Free Press staff writers

LANSING — Virginia Beard was only a half mile from the finish line when explosions rocked the Boston Marathon.

On Sunday, the assistant college professor will take those final strides at the Lansing Marathon as part of a tribute to victims of the bombings.

Beard, who qualified for Boston last year in the first annual Lansing Marathon, will kick off the marathon by running its last half mile with Lansing Mayor Virg Bernero before receiving a medal and leading the crowd in a moment of silence. The ceremony was planned during a whirlwind week for race organizers, who recruited extra course marshals, added hundreds of runners and had to reroute the course because of heavy rains that led to flooding.

“Horrified and heartbroken, Monday was such a terrible, terrible day, and some people thought we should cancel, that people wouldn’t show up,” said Owen Anderson, race director. “In fact, the reverse has been true. People said we have to keep running or walking.”

Registrations have increased from 1,752 last year to 2,400 this year, including 400 who signed up after Monday’s tragedy in Boston, leading race organizers to worry they might not have enough T-shirts and medals for all the participants. The number of volunteers also has increased dramatically, Anderson said.

Paying tribute to the victims of the Boston bombings became a top priority, said assistant race director Pam Jodway. She said groups are planning to come to the race wearing blue and yellow, the colors of the Boston Marathon.

“I think that it’s people saying, ‘I’m going to get out and run in tribute to people who ran in Boston, and didn’t get to complete their race,’” Jodway said. She said it’s also a way for people to honor the victims.

Steven Schofield, 27, of Grand Blanc will be one of the runners on Sunday, participating in his second marathon. He hasn’t let the Boston bombings enter into his mind too much as he’s completed his last week of training before the marathon.

“It’s kind of like a distance runner’s mentality,” he said. “You work so hard for something and you don’t let anything stand in the way of achieving your goals.”

There will be a heightened awareness of security Sunday, according to race organizers who recruited additional course marshals on the heels of the attacks. Police dogs also will sweep the 26.2-mile course to ensure nothing suspicious has been left behind.

The marathon course was rerouted and re-measured because of a Red Cedar River flood warning following heavy rains. The original route of the full- and half-marathon events incorporated a double loop using almost 7 miles of the Lansing River Trail that are expected to be flooded this weekend.

The marathon, half-marathon and marathon relay start at 8 a.m. Sunday. For more information, visit www.lansingmarathon.com.